Ingredient Procurement

Stable procurement of safe, reliable, high-quality ingredients is essential for the continued production of better products.
To ensure this, we participate in responsible initiatives that keep in mind the natural environment and society of the growing area from the ingredient procurement stage.

Basic Sustainable Procurement Policy

At S&B Foods, we have established our “Basic Sustainability Purchasing Policy” and procure ingredients and materials based on this policy.
By striving in cooperation with the trading partners who make up our supply chain to purchase ingredients, materials, and products that are safe, reliable, and environmentally and socially friendly, we fulfill our social responsibility to work toward a sustainable society.

Safety and Reliability Initiatives

At S&B Foods, we collect the basic information on all ingredients used in a database, which is updated regularly.
Items include a variety of information such as the growing area, the manufacturing process, additives, allergens, and genetic modifications.
In particular, spice and herb quality-related items, such as fragrance, color, and pungency, as well as safety and reliability analyses on residual pesticides, etc., are continuously and periodically evaluated in our thorough quality control system.

Stable Procurement Initiatives

Since our founding, our greatest strength at S&B Foods has been product manufacturing with a focus on herbs and spices.
Team members at the department in charge of spice and herb procurement work hard to keep track of the local weather, growing conditions, and political climate in growing areas around the world in order to procure better ingredients.
Because the climate in growing areas can have a significant impact on the quality and yield of ingredients, it can be a painstaking process to procure a stable annual supply that meets S&B Foods quality standards.
Various elements go into ensuring stable procurement, such as distributed growing areas and using contract farming.
We look forward to continuing efforts into better ingredient procurement while making regular visits to growing areas and strengthening relationships with producers and local manufacturers.

Sustainable Procurement Commitment

To achieve our corporate philosophy of “Bring natural life and happiness to every household,” we view spices, which are core ingredients for S&B Foods, palm oil, and paper, which are internationally recognized as having issues in areas of the environment, the biosphere, and human rights, as important aspects of sustainable procurement. As part of our commitment to stakeholders, we released our Medium and Long-Term Procurement Policy on our website in May 2019. By fulfilling this commitment, we are actively engaged in contributing to achievement of the international Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Regarding “sustainable palm oil procurement,” we aim to switch to 100% RSPO-certified palm oil by the end of fiscal 2023. As of March 2023, our use of RSPO-certified oil was at 21.4%. Moreover, regarding “sustainable paper procurement,” we aim to switch to 100% FSC-certified paper by the end of fiscal 2023. As of March 2023, our use of FSC-certified paper was at 73.6%. We expect to achieve both targets during fiscal 2023.
Based on these efforts, we have established a new commitment for 2030, as follows.

Commitment 1

have scrutinized the results.

Sustainable spice procurement

We have set a sustainable procurement goal for our main spices^*1 that takes into consideration safety, human rights, the environment, and compliance with a target of reaching the goal by 2030. Through a three-step process consisting of survey, analysis, and improvement aimed at attaining our goal, we are currently undertaking supplier surveys. We have already given a questionnaire survey based on five items in our Basic Sustainability Purchasing Policy and have scrutinized the results.
Currently, we are using video-conferencing to conduct detailed interviews of suppliers that are taking advanced measures. We are also continuing efforts toward fair trade^*2 and organic certification^*3 in spice procurement as well as expanding contracted farming.

*1Main spices: pepper, chili pepper, mustard, parsley, laurel, oregano, wasabi, turmeric, coriander, and cumin

*2 Fairtrade International certification

*3 Organic JAS certification

Commitment 2

Sustainable palm oil procurement

We will switch to 100% RSPO-certified^*4 palm oil for all S&B Food Group products during fiscal 2023.^*5 In addition to continuing this initiative into the future, by fiscal 2030, we aim to build engagement^*6 to achieve sustainable procurement in cooperation with production areas and suppliers.

*4 RSPO certification

*5Targeting 100% RSPO-certified palm oil (through a combination of Mass Balance and Book & Claim)

*6Regular on-site surveys and cooperation with plantations and local factories through our suppliers, as well as support for small farmers and the establishment of complaint-handling procedures

Commitment 3

Sustainable paper procurement

During fiscal 2023, we will switch to 100% FSC-certified^*7 paper for the packaging used in all the S&B Food Group's curry and other roux products, ready-made sauce in pouch products, and paste in tube products. We will then proceed to expand this initiative to include the labels of bottled spices and paper product bags, aiming to switch to 100% FSC-certified paper in all S&B Food Group product packaging by fiscal 2030.

*7 FSC certification